Monday, December 3, 2012

Alex Rodriguez was playing late in the regular season and playoffs with a re-tear in his surgically repaired right hip, The Post has learned.

Rodriguez is expected to need a second surgery in the coming days and will miss, at minimum, a piece of the 2013 season. Still, the hope is that the procedure will allow A-Rod to return as a full, successful player as early as the ’13 season and for the rest of a contract that takes him through the 2017 campaign.

The expectation is that Rodriguez wants to play on, not retire. The surgery is expected to be performed in Colorado by Dr. Marc Philippon, who performed the initial surgery in 2009. Rodriguez came back from that operation to play well, driving in 100 runs in just 124 games and starring in a postseason that culminated with the Yankees’ only title during his tenure.

...

The recurrence of the hip tear potentially helps explain why Rodriguez suffered through such a miserable postseason, which ultimately led to his benching. He was 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits and 12 strikeouts during the playoffs. However, Rodriguez also is 37 and so age could be a factor in the decline and also his ability to recuperate well from another surgery.

Just when you thought that contract couldn't look worse, it does. By the way, in case you were wondering, he's still owed $113 million over the next five seasons.

Alex Rodriguez was playing late in the regular season and playoffs with a re-tear in his surgically repaired right hip, The Post has learned.

Rodriguez is expected to need a second surgery in the coming days and will miss, at minimum, a piece of the 2013 season. Still, the hope is that the procedure will allow A-Rod to return as a full, successful player as early as the ’13 season and for the rest of a contract that takes him through the 2017 campaign.

The expectation is that Rodriguez wants to play on, not retire. The surgery is expected to be performed in Colorado by Dr. Marc Philippon, who performed the initial surgery in 2009. Rodriguez came back from that operation to play well, driving in 100 runs in just 124 games and starring in a postseason that culminated with the Yankees’ only title during his tenure.

...

The recurrence of the hip tear potentially helps explain why Rodriguez suffered through such a miserable postseason, which ultimately led to his benching. He was 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits and 12 strikeouts during the playoffs. However, Rodriguez also is 37 and so age could be a factor in the decline and also his ability to recuperate well from another surgery.

Just when you thought that contract couldn't look worse, it does. By the way, in case you were wondering, he's still owed $113 million over the next five seasons.